1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an air purifier and in particular to a compact high temperature incinerator for both gaseous organic contaminants and airborne particulates.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Indoor air quality is becoming a serious health concern as residences and work places became more air-tight to conserve heating or cooling energy. Common gaseous air contaminants include VOC (volatile organic compounds or chemicals) from furnitures and carpets in offices and homes or from industrial processes and commercial operations, such as painting, printing, and cleaning. Common airborne particulates include smoke, human and animal hair, bacteria, fibre fragments, pollen and many other minute solid particles known as dust.
Prior art air purifiers vary widely in sizes, designs and applications. They range from portable room air purifiers to very large integrated industrial air cleaning systems which are, sometimes, legally required. Regardless of their size, in most prior art air purifiers, the gaseous contaminants are removed either by a total incineration or a selective adsorption. The solid particulates are removed by a filtration with a medium or with the aid of an electrostatic field.
In these prior art air purifiers, both the filters and the electrostatic traps must be cleaned or replaced regularly. The adsorbent, such as activated charcoal, must be regenerated or replaced. Additional power is needed to overcome the pressure drop which is caused by the filter and the trapped particles. The pressure drop is, sometimes, minimized by a pleated filter with a large surface area. Very fine, sub-micron, particles are very difficult to filter and requires more power for an electrostatic separator or a specially fine medium.
To burn the gaseous and the fine airborne organic contaminants, the air stream must be heated to and kept at a high temperature. A higher temperature and higher rate make the system more compact but requires more added heat and costly high temperature materials of construction. The added heat is carried away by the exiting purified air as its sensible heat or lost to the surrounding.
At present, high prices and costly routine replacement parts and services of air purifiers make them less popular. Although an incinerating air purifier is simple, effective and complete, it requires an additional supply of heat.